Friends of Socialist China, Author at Friends of Socialist China

Twelve countries warn against normalising attacks on peaceful nuclear sites

China, Cuba, Russia, Nicaragua and others have joined Iran in a strong statement responding to repeated US and Israeli attacks – and continuing threats – against Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities.

Delivered at the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, the joint statement by Belarus, Burkina Faso, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Zimbabwe warns that attacks against nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards “must never be accepted as normal”, violating international law and threatening nuclear safety and global non-proliferation efforts. The signatories reaffirm “the inalienable right of all states to develop research, production, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination”.

This principle lies at the heart of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament by the nuclear-armed states, and the sharing of peaceful nuclear technology. For decades, the West has demanded that Iran observe its end of the bargain while systematically violating its own: sanctioning legitimate civilian nuclear development, sabotaging equipment, assassinating nuclear scientists, and bombing safeguarded facilities.

Recognising Iran’s right to civilian nuclear power is an essential component of any lasting peace.

Calligraphy as a national security threat: the Pentagon’s war on Confucius Institutes

In the following article, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez responds to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s designation of Confucius Institutes as a threat to national security – the culmination of a years-long campaign that has seen the number of institutes at US universities fall from around 100 to fewer than five.

Noting that Britain, France, Germany, Spain and the US itself all promote their languages and cultures abroad, Carlos argues that the war on Confucius Institutes is a form of cultural decoupling, rooted in the long tradition of McCarthyism – which was itself born in the hysteria over the “loss of China” – and designed to sever the ties of language, culture and friendship between young people in the West and China. But it is a losing battle: young Americans are increasingly discovering China for themselves.

Lula’s re-election brings continuity to China-Brazil ties, fresh momentum for Global South cooperation

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a historic fourth term as President of Brazil, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro in the second round of the presidential election on October 25 with 51.78 percent of the vote – the first time in Brazil’s history that a candidate has overturned a first-round deficit to win the runoff.

This is a victory of enormous international significance. A Bolsonaro presidency would have been a major step forward for the Trump administration’s agenda of continental hegemony – its “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine. Flávio Bolsonaro had openly offered Brazil to Washington as the “solution” to its dependence on China for critical minerals and pledged that the US would be Brazil’s primary commercial, political and security partner. As Francisco Dominguez has recently argued, Latin America finds itself caught between James Monroe and Zhou Enlai; Brazil’s voters have chosen sovereignty.

Lula’s re-election means continuity for one of the pillars of BRICS and the Global South, and for Brazil’s commitment to building a multipolar world. It also brings stability and predictability to the China-Brazil relationship. As the following article from Global Times notes, bilateral trade reached a record US$143.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, and Chinese experts see significant potential for expanding cooperation in green and low-carbon development, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, and aerospace. The two countries are also expected to continue coordinating on reform of the UN and WTO, global debt restructuring and climate negotiations – helping to ensure, in the words of Pan Deng, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Region Law Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, that global governance “better reflects the concerns and development needs of emerging economies”.

A manifesto, a propaganda force, a seeding-machine: the Long March at 90

In the following article, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez marks the 90th anniversary of the conclusion of the Red Army’s Long March, taking as his starting point Mao Zedong’s description of the march as “a manifesto… a propaganda force… a seeding-machine”.

Carlos traces the road to the Long March – from the Kuomintang’s betrayal of the First United Front and the 1927 Shanghai massacre to the reorientation towards the countryside and the five encirclement campaigns against the Jiangxi Soviet – and recounts the march itself, including the crossings of the Jinsha and Dadu rivers and the seizure of the Luding Bridge. He emphasises that the Long March was also a landmark in the development of Chinese Marxism: the Zunyi Conference brought Mao to the core of decision-making, and the march created a political distance from the Comintern representatives’ dogmatic interpretation of Marxism, laying the deepest roots of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The article concludes that each generation has its own Long March – today walked in the victory over extreme poverty, the drive for scientific and technological self-reliance, and the building of an ecological civilisation – and that, for the Global South, the march remains the great demonstration that a people organised around a clear political project can defeat apparently overwhelming force.

Xi Jinping made a similar point in his speech marking the anniversary on October 22, stressing that “the road of the Long March continues to extend”.

Francisco Dominguez: Latin America – between James Monroe and Zhou Enlai

In the following article, Dr Francisco Dominguez, Secretary of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, argues that Latin America is caught between two diametrically opposed global forces: US imperialism, whose drive for regional hegemony traces back to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, and the China-led effort to build a multipolar world grounded in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence formulated by Zhou Enlai.

Francisco charts the extraordinary growth of China-Latin America relations – from total trade of US$1.8 billion in 1990 to US$565 billion in 2025 – along with Chinese investment in infrastructure, energy and manufacturing, and China’s sustained support for Cuba in the face of an ever-tighter US blockade.

He contrasts this win-win cooperation with the Trump administration’s “Monroe Corollary”, which so far has involved the kidnapping of President Maduro, the militarisation of the hemisphere, the US-led “Shield of the Americas” coalition, and open threats against Mexico and Cuba, as voiced by Trump at the UN General Assembly and denounced there by Mia Mottley, Bruno Rodríguez and Lula.

China, Francisco concludes, offers Latin America “the normalisation of choice” – and the prospect of a region where sovereignty, development and social progress can flourish. Hence his rallying cry: “Down with Monroe and up with Zhou Enlai!”

US tech leaders are urgently calling for rules on AI – China already has them

In the following article, Madeline Carr, Professor of Global Politics and Cybersecurity at University College London, points out that, while US tech leaders are increasingly calling for governments to regulate artificial intelligence – portraying China as “the difficult final participant in a governance system that the US and its allies must first create” – China has in fact already built an extensive system of AI rules, assessment, filing, technical standards and government oversight.

She traces the development of this system in stages, from Beijing’s 2022 rules on algorithmic recommendation services, through regulations on AI-generated content and generative AI services, to the AI Safety Governance Framework 3.0 published in September 2026, which addresses frontier risks such as highly autonomous systems, the misuse of chemical, biological and nuclear technologies, and the possibility of humans losing control of advanced AI.

By contrast, the Trump administration favours a “minimally burdensome” approach, leaving US companies free to privatise the rewards of AI while exporting its risks. Silicon Valley’s ethos of “move fast and break things”, Professor Carr writes, is “untenable for companies whose own leaders now warn that their products could cause catastrophic harm”. China, meanwhile, “is already ahead of the curve”.

Xi Jinping: the road of the Long March continues to extend

On October 22, a gathering was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army’s Long March – the epic 1934–36 operation that saved and set the course of the Chinese Revolution.

Addressing the gathering, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that “the Party’s right leadership and the establishment of Mao Zedong’s core position were decisive for the victory”, along with firm conviction, the integration of Marxism with China’s specific realities, and reliance on the people. Describing the great spirit of the Long March as “a precious treasure and a powerful driving force”, he noted that “the road of the Long March continues to extend”, calling for new achievements on the new Long March towards building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. For more on the history and contemporary significance of the Long March, see our co-editor Carlos Martinez’s article marking its 90th anniversary.

Ben Chacko: Is China’s foreign policy good enough?

We are pleased to republish this review by Ben Chacko, editor of the Morning Star, of China’s Foreign Policy and the Making of a Multipolar World: Changes unseen in a century, edited by Friends of Socialist China co-editors Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez and published by Praxis Press.

Ben describes the book as “a necessary – and consistently carefully argued – corrective to the scaremongering about China which dominates the Western media and goes unchallenged far too often on the Western left”. He stresses that the book is not just about China, but about how we respond to the decline of US imperialism, and he takes aim at those who spin a “neither Washington nor Beijing” narrative based on the idea of the US-China dynamic as an example of inter-imperialist rivalry.

Highlighting contributions by Andrew Murray, Danny Haiphong and Torkil Lauesen, the review concludes that a socialist country presenting a viable alternative to US supremacy is “arguably the biggest challenge to world imperialism since the Russian Revolution”, and that this is “a book that should sit on every anti-imperialist bookshelf”.

The book is available from Praxis Press in paperback and as an ePub.

Kate Hudson: Let’s unite across borders against AUKUS

In the following article, Dr Kate Hudson, Vice President of Britain’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), noting that we are now five years into the AUKUS pact between Australia, the UK and the USA, poses the question: how does it fit into the ongoing build-up to war on China?

She goes on to argue that while “the most immediate struggles between the US and China are currently very much taking place on the economic terrain, the longer run underlying issues are of course military… there is no doubt that enormous resources are being put into expanding US military power to give it the capabilities to confront China.”

She explains that, at its most obvious level, AUKUS is a military pact between Australia, the UK and the US, which enables Australia to have nuclear powered submarines. “These are massively more capable than their previous conventionally powered subs, with much greater reach, much greater payload and much smaller detectability. In the context of either controlling the region, or being used in war, these subs are a massive escalation and provocation. They also constitute nuclear proliferation, which adds another whole order of illegality to the initiative.”

Resistance is building in Australia, particularly from the trade union movement but also from wider circles, including former Prime Ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Paul Keating. And there is common ground here in Britain: “Wages not weapons and welfare not warfare were key successful slogans at the TUC Conference last month… Let’s build the links across borders and step up our political and practical work here.”

Wang Yi: Palestine is the biggest historical injustice since World War II; China will remain on the side of the oppressed nations

The Seventh Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on 15 October.

The summit adopted and issued the Baku Declaration of the Seventh CICA Summit. The declaration reaffirmed member states’ commitments to the UN Charter and the universally recognised norms and principles of international law, as well as their resolve to implement confidence-building measures in five dimensions — military-political, new challenges and threats, economic, environmental and human — as set out in the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures. It further underscored the need for multilateralism and enhanced cooperation amid an increasingly complex international environment.

The full text of the declaration can be read here.

The summit also admitted Laos as CICA’s 29th full member. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the summit as the Special Representative of President Xi Jinping.

The creation of CICA was proposed by Kazakhstan in 1992 at the 47th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The multinational forum aims to promote peace, security and stability in Asia by developing and implementing multilateral confidence-building measures and strengthening cooperation in related areas. China is a founding member of the body.

On October 15, Wang Yi met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin on the sidelines of the summit.

Wang Yi noted that China is one of the first countries to recognise Palestine. China and Palestine are good friends and good brothers, and the two sides have carried forward their friendship for decades. No matter how the international landscape changes, the Chinese people have always stood together with the Palestinian people and firmly supported the Palestinian people’s just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights.

The Chinese foreign minister added that the Palestinian question is the most prolonged hotspot issue and the biggest historical injustice in the world since World War II. Unless this issue is resolved fairly, lasting peace and stability cannot be achieved in the Middle East. The Palestinian question should not be marginalised, and the world must not forget the two million Palestinian people in Gaza struggling on the brink of death. Justice may be delayed but never absent. As a responsible major country, China will continue to stand on the side of international justice and remain on the side of the oppressed nations and continue to speak up for the just cause of Palestine on multilateral platforms.

Varsen Aghabekian Shahin briefed on the latest developments of the Palestinian question. She stressed that the international community should not apply double standards to the Palestinian question, and highly appreciated China’s just position. Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said that Palestine appreciates China for its long-standing strong support for the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, for insisting on speaking up for Palestine on international and multilateral occasions, and for providing selfless help in the humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Palestine and China have maintained traditional friendship and the two sides enjoy sound cooperation.

The next day Wang Yi met with the Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in the highest-level contact between China and the Zionist entity since before October 2023. (CICA is unusual as an Asian regional body in that both Israel as well as the Arab and Muslim nations participate as members.) The Chinese reports of the meeting with Herzog pointedly note that it took place at his request.

However, he is unlikely to have been pleased by what he heard. Wang said that promoting peace and reconciliation in the region is the cornerstone of China’s Middle East policy. China has consistently maintained that the Palestinian question is the greatest historical injustice of this century. He added that the current top priority is to open full access to the Gaza Strip. The two million civilians there must not be left struggling on the brink of survival, nor should the humanitarian catastrophe be allowed to continue spreading; Israel should halt and reverse the forced establishment of settlements in the West Bank.

Wang Yi’s meeting with Herzog predictably drew considerable international media attention.

Palestine Chronicle headlined their report: “‘Greatest Historical Injustice’: China Challenges Herzog Over Palestinian Rights”. It wrote:

“Wang Yi called the Palestinian cause ‘the greatest historical injustice of this century’ during talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. China demanded an immediate halt to settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and the full reopening of access routes to Gaza.”

It added: “Several delegations representing Arab and Islamic countries walked out of the conference hall in opposition to Israeli aggression and continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank [when Herzog rose to deliver his speech] …

“Wang’s demands in Baku focused on stopping Israeli settlement expansion, restoring access to Gaza and addressing the Palestinian question through that framework. The exchange placed those demands directly before Herzog as Israel faced protests from other delegations attending the summit.”

Al Jazeera headlined: “China tells Israel to stop ‘forced establishment’ of West Bank settlements. ‘The Palestinian question is the greatest historical injustice of this century,’ China’s foreign minister said.”

It further recalled: “In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cairo for the first time in a decade and called on Middle East countries to oppose external influence and consider reshaping the region’s security order… In March, China criticised the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, with Beijing demanding an immediate halt to the joint attacks.”

Wang Yi also held a number of other bilateral meetings during his stay in Baku.

In their meeting, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said that his country appreciates China’s long-standing strong support for Azerbaijan’s economic and social development and the safeguarding of its national interests. It regards China as a leading force in the rise of the Global South and believes Chinese modernisation has set an example for developing countries including Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to support and participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. A series of cooperation projects between the two countries have yielded fruitful results. Azerbaijan is ready to strengthen strategic alignment with China and continue to expand cooperation in energy, connectivity and other fields. Azerbaijan welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the country.

Wang Yi said that China supports Azerbaijan in following a development path suited to its national conditions and is ready to strengthen cooperation with Azerbaijan and other relevant parties on the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), and continue to serve as a reliable long‑term strategic partner in Azerbaijan’s development. China appreciates Azerbaijan’s long-standing strong support on issues concerning China’s core interests, and supports Azerbaijan in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. China’s development represents the increasing force of the Global South and the growing strength of developing countries. China is ready to maintain close coordination and cooperation with Azerbaijan to jointly safeguard the common interests of Global South countries. China supports Azerbaijan in playing an important role in multilateral platforms such as CICA and in international affairs and making greater contributions to peace and stability of the region and the world.

Wang also held talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

Jeyhun Bayramov said that Azerbaijan and China are sincere friends and reliable partners to each other. The friendship between the two countries has a long history, and exchanges at all levels have become increasingly closer, bringing bilateral relations to an unprecedentedly high level. Azerbaijan firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is ready to follow the guidance of the two heads of state with China to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership, deepen cooperation in energy, transportation, climate change, artificial intelligence, culture and people-to-people exchanges and other fields, and step up efforts in the Belt and Road cooperation and the joint building of the Middle Corridor. Azerbaijan agrees with and values China’s leading role among Global South countries, fully supports the series of global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping, and is ready to strengthen mutual support and cooperation with China in international affairs.

In his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Wang Yi noted that China and Turkey share a traditional friendship. Deepening bilateral strategic cooperation serves the interests of both countries and peoples and will contribute to world economic recovery. China has always attached great importance to China-Turkey relations and is ready to take the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to work with Turkey to implement the important understandings reached by the two heads of state and bring China-Turkey strategic cooperation to a new level.

He added that China appreciates Turkey’s repeated emphasis on attaching importance to China’s security concerns and its efforts to curb terrorist acts endangering China’s national security. It is hoped that Turkey will continue to understand and support China’s position on issues concerning China’s core interests, safeguard the common interests of the two countries and consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations.

Wang Yi stated that China supports Turkey in hosting the 31st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), appreciates Turkey’s efforts in addressing climate change, and is ready to deepen cooperation with Turkey in this field. In the next period, the two sides should strengthen the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor programme, create a sound environment for two-way investment, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Hakan Fidan said that Turkey attaches great importance to relations with China and hopes to accelerate high-level exchanges between the two countries in the next stage. Turkey-China economic and trade relations enjoy good development prospects. Turkey welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the country and welcomes more Chinese tourists to visit Turkey, so as to achieve more balanced development in cooperation in various fields. Turkey understands China’s concerns in combating extremist terrorism.

In his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Wang Yi congratulated Russia on the successful State Duma election and the smooth conclusion of this important domestic political agenda. Wang noted that President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin held fruitful meetings in May and August this year, steering the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era to sustained high-level development. The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Shenzhen next month. It is believed that with support from Russia and other parties, the APEC “China Year” will yield fruitful outcomes, jointly revitalising the historical process of the Asia-Pacific community and injecting strong impetus into development and cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.

Lavrov said that China and Russia hold similar positions on international affairs. Russia is ready to further strengthen coordination with China under multilateral frameworks including the United Nations, the G20, APEC and the BRICS mechanism to jointly uphold international fairness and justice.

The two sides also coordinated their respective positions and reached new consensus on the next-stage high-level exchanges between China and Russia as well as international and regional hotspot issues of common concern.

Wang Yi also met with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Wang said that China is ready to work with Bahrain on the basis of mutual respect and mutual support to enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and advance coordination on multilateral platforms, so as to promote the continuous development of China-Bahrain relations. He also stated that the protracted conflicts in the Middle East have exerted a severe impact on regional peace and stability. This does not serve any party’s interest. President Xi Jinping has put forward a series of initiatives and proposals dedicated to peace in the Middle East, which represent the insight and solutions contributed by China to addressing the security dilemma in the Middle East. China has always believed that conflicts should not be escalated and fighting should not spread. Confrontation worsens tensions, while dialogue is the right path. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, and the legitimate concerns of all parties should be valued. It is necessary to remove interference and continue to adhere to the direction of political settlement. China is ready, based on the series of initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping, to strengthen communication and coordination with regional countries including Bahrain to help the region achieve lasting peace and stability.

Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said that the current security situation in the Gulf countries is very grave. Bahrain welcomes the Chinese initiatives and solutions put forward by President Xi Jinping, which are all important ideas that benefit regional countries. Bahrain appreciates China’s consistent commitment to fairness and justice, its communication with regional countries, and its active efforts to bring an end to military operations.

In his speech to the CICA summit, Wang Yi said that it is a platform for dialogue and cooperation initiated and jointly built by Asian countries. Since its establishment, CICA has actively championed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, systematically advanced cooperation on confidence building measures, consistently practised multilateralism, and worked tirelessly to strengthen the foundation of trust for peace and security in Asia.

Amid accelerating changes unseen in a century, only by fostering a sense of community with a shared future, standing on the right side of history, and upholding solidarity and cooperation can Asian countries stand at the forefront of the times, turn crises into opportunities and jointly create a better future, he said.

He put forward four proposals:

First, jointly safeguard peace and stability. Asia does not need a Cold War mentality and does not welcome bloc confrontation. Asia’s problems should ultimately be addressed by the people of Asia through solidarity and cooperation.
Second, jointly promote prosperity and revitalisation. Development is the master key to solving all problems. Efforts should be made to better align high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with the development initiatives of various countries.
Third, jointly promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations. Asia is the continent with the greatest diversity of civilisations. Efforts should be made to firmly promote the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, respect countries’ independent choices of development paths and governance models.
Fourth, jointly improve global governance. Efforts should be made to reinvigorate the authority and role of the United Nations and to uphold the basic norms governing international relations established by the UN Charter.

Following his meetings in Baku, Wang Yi paid a visit to Croatia.

Meeting with President Zoran Milanovic on October 16, Wang Yi said that with a civilisation spanning 5,000 years, China’s deep-rooted commitment to peace means that it does not seek to use its strength to dominate others but instead pursues cooperation and mutual benefits with all countries. President Xi has put forward the goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity, emphasising that all countries should stand together, embrace their shared destiny and jointly protect and develop the only planet that humanity calls home. China advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world in which all countries, large and small, are equal and uphold the basic norms of international relations based on the United Nations Charter. China will strive to make the world more peaceful, stable and prosperous, Wang said, adding that China’s success is not only its own, but also a success for all countries of the Global South.

The two sides also exchanged views on China-Europe relations. Wang noted that there is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and the European Union (EU), and that the two sides can help each other succeed and achieve common prosperity. Regarding the EU’s concerns over China’s trade surplus, Wang said that the surplus is a result of market demand and the international division of labour. China and the EU are partners, not adversaries, and should pursue cooperation rather than confrontation.

Milanovic said that Croatia, as an EU member, adheres to the bloc’s common foreign and security policy while striving to maintain its own independence. On current economic and trade disputes between China and the EU, he said that he shares China’s position and believes that China’s strong competitiveness stems mainly from an efficient, comprehensive system for organising production.

In their meeting on October 17, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told Wang Yi that Chinese enterprises have participated in infrastructure projects in Croatia, including roads, bridges and tunnels, noting that the Peljesac Bridge has played a significant role in improving connectivity between different parts of the country.

Stressing that Croatia attaches great importance to cooperation with China under the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) framework and the Belt and Road Initiative, Plenkovic said Croatia is willing to continue contributing to these efforts and looks forward to the early resumption of the CEEC-China leaders’ meeting mechanism to create new opportunities for closer high-level exchanges between the two sides. (The China-CEEC mechanism currently groups China with 14 countries in central and eastern Europe following the accession of Greece in 2019 and the withdrawal of Lithuania in 2021 and of Estonia and Latvia in 2022. Four countries and two international organisations have observer status. The grouping met annually from 2012 to 2019 and then by video conference, due to the COVID pandemic, in 2021. Until now it has not held a further summit meeting.)

Wang Yi noted that China firmly believes that China and the European Union (EU) are partners, not rivals. China supports European integration and Croatia’s efforts to achieve faster development through this process and hopes Croatia will play a constructive role in deepening China-EU cooperation. Meanwhile, Wang stressed that China and CEECs share a practical need to strengthen exchanges and cooperation. Such cooperation is entirely open and transparent and contributes to European integration, he added.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with interested countries in the region through established mechanisms, appreciates Croatia’s positive attitude in this regard and is ready to use the 15th anniversary of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism next year as an opportunity to reinvigorate mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides.

On trade issues between China and the EU, Wang Yi reiterated that these stem from the international division of labour and market demand. Imports of high-quality, competitively priced Chinese goods benefit European consumers and help curb inflation, reflecting demand in the European market, and there is no so-called “overcapacity” problem.

China is willing to import more high-value-added products from Europe and hopes the EU will ease restrictions on exports to China. China is committed to promoting balanced growth in bilateral trade, with both sides moving forward rather than backward and expanding shared benefits rather than diminishing them.

Plenkovic briefed Wang on the situation in the Western Balkans. Wang said that China does not interfere in the internal affairs of countries in the region and hopes that all countries will enhance understanding, rebuild mutual trust and coexist in harmony through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in line with the needs of countries in the region.

In his meeting with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman, Wang Yi said that Croatia, an important stop on the ancient Silk Road, has once fostered mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilisations. It was also noted that this marks the first visit to Croatia by a Chinese foreign minister in 33 years and serves as a reciprocal visit following Radman’s trip to China last year.

Radman said that Croatia attaches great importance to its relations with China and respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Croatia has consistently adhered to the one-China policy and will continue to uphold it firmly, neither participating in nor supporting any “Taiwan independence” activities.

Following his visit to Croatia, Wang Yi visited Montenegro. The visit was notable for assuming strong anti-fascist overtones.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic met with Wang in Cetinje, a city near Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, on October 17, expressing his country’s willingness to deepen friendly relations and practical cooperation with China.

Milatovic asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and welcomed the first-ever visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Montenegro. Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Montenegro and China, he said the visit holds important symbolic significance. Recalling his experience studying in China, he said he had gained a deeper understanding of China’s economic and social development and the lives of its people, as well as the importance of cooperation with China. Noting that European Union (EU) accession is currently a priority on Montenegro’s foreign policy agenda, Milatovic said his country also attaches great importance to relations with China, with Montenegro firmly adhering to the one-China principle and remaining committed to friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation with China.

Wang conveyed Xi’s cordial greetings to Milatovic, saying that despite the geographical distance, China and Montenegro have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, setting an example of friendly exchanges between countries of different sizes. Wang said China appreciates Milatovic’s rational and objective understanding of China and his active efforts to promote bilateral relations. He said China has consistently maintained that all countries, big or small, are equal, and has always followed the path of partnership over alliance and dialogue over confrontation.

Wang added that China has engaged in practical cooperation with Montenegro in good faith, delivering tangible results. Describing Montenegro’s north-south expressway as a landmark project of historic significance, he called on both sides to ensure the high-quality completion of its second phase.

Montenegro enjoys unique tourism resources and has a historical tradition of anti-fascism, Wang said, adding that China is helping restore the Tara River Bridge, which was featured in the famous Yugoslav film “The Bridge,” and that more Chinese tourists are expected to visit Montenegro.

China has always maintained that China and the EU are partners, not rivals, he said, noting that differences over economic and trade issues, which have emerged amid increasingly closer cooperation, can be resolved through dialogue and should not affect the overall development of China-EU relations. Wang said China understands Montenegro’s efforts to join the EU and its choice to pursue European integration, noting that the process is fully compatible with deeper cooperation with China. China believes Montenegro will become another good friend of China within the EU after its accession and hopes Montenegro will play a unique and important role in promoting regional peace and stability and advancing China-EU relations.

The following day, Wang Yi met with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic in the capital Podgorica.

Spajic said Wang’s visit demonstrates the importance China attaches to bilateral relations. Montenegro and China share historical memories and traditional friendship, as both countries fought against fascism and foreign aggression during World War II.

Montenegro highly values China’s status and influence as a major country and appreciates China’s responsible efforts to curb rising global oil prices amid the conflicts in the Middle East, which have helped Montenegro and other small and medium-sized countries cope with the energy crisis, demonstrating China’s sense of responsibility as a major country.

Noting Montenegro’s sound economic and social development in recent years, Spajic said Chinese enterprises have helped the country complete the construction of its north-south expressway. The ongoing joint restoration of the Tara River Bridge is a project of great historical significance, bringing the two peoples closer and serving as a testament to their traditional friendship, he added.

Wang conveyed Chinese leaders’ best wishes to Spajic, saying that China and Montenegro have always been good friends on their paths toward development and revitalisation. Wang said China and Montenegro share much in common. Both peoples are unafraid of bullying and firmly defend their national dignity. They both achieved victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and should remain vigilant against the resurgence of militarism.

Both countries uphold and practise multilateralism and oppose a return to the “law of the jungle”, he said. The Tara River Bridge connects the hearts of the two peoples and carries both the history and future of bilateral relations. China’s assistance in restoring the bridge is of great historical and social significance, he added.

Also, on October 18, Wang Yi met with his Montenegrin counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic in Podgorica.

Wang said China and Montenegro are good friends despite the geographical distance. China was among the first countries to recognise Montenegro’s independence and establish diplomatic relations with it, demonstrating China’s respect for Montenegro and the importance it attaches to bilateral ties.

Over the past 20 years, China-Montenegro relations have maintained sound and steady development, bringing benefits to both peoples and setting an example of win-win cooperation between countries with different sizes, national conditions and social systems.

Wang added that both countries share a history of anti-fascism and a national spirit of resilience and defiance in the face of aggression, noting that China is helping restore the Tara River Bridge featured in the famous Yugoslav film “The Bridge,” which he believes will also connect the hearts of the two peoples. China supports Montenegro’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, supports the path of development and revitalisation chosen by the Montenegrin people, and supports Montenegro in playing an active role in international affairs. China has both the willingness and the capability to help Montenegro achieve development and stands ready to be a reliable and long-term partner.

Noting that the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism was established in response to the development needs of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), Wang said China pursues such cooperation without geopolitical considerations, does not interfere in the internal affairs of regional countries, and looks forward to mutually beneficial outcomes. Noting that all Balkan countries are good friends of China and maintain sound cooperation with China, he expressed the hope that countries in the region will live in harmony, build mutual trust and achieve common development.

For his part, Ibrahimovic said Montenegro and China enjoy a long-standing friendship, and despite the geographical distance, the two peoples share a strong sense of friendship, with the Tara River Bridge symbolising their shared historical memories.

He added that Montenegro warmly welcomes the first-ever visit by a Chinese foreign minister, adding that frequent visits to China by Montenegrin representatives from various sectors have sent a positive signal of the country’s commitment to exchanges and cooperation with China. Montenegro firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and no official from any Montenegrin government institution will engage in exchanges with Taiwan, he stressed.

Regarding the Tara River Bridge and the Yugoslav film “The Bridge” repeatedly invoked above, on May 24, 2025, our co-editor Keith Bennett spoke at a remembrance and discussion event at the Bishop Nikolaj Community Centre in West London, marking 26 years since NATO’s war of aggression against Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, organised by the Round Table of Serbian organisations and community groups in the United Kingdom, and said as follows:

“The enduring friendship between China and Serbia has its root in this common struggle [against fascism] on the eastern and western fronts. The 1969 Yugoslav film, The Bridge, vividly depicted those days. It was one of the first foreign films to be shown in China at the start of reform and opening up. Both the film, and through it the song Bella Ciao, became favourites of a generation of Chinese people, including President Xi Jinping.”

Following his visit to Montenegro, Wang Yi was scheduled to visit Bulgaria before returning home.

Through Chinese eyes: a CASS scholar on Britain’s Xi Jinping Thought Study Group

The following article by Zhuo Mingliang, Associate Research Fellow at the Academy of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), examines the work of the Xi Jinping Thought Study Group, set up in 2020 by the London-based Institute for Independence Studies. Among its founders is our co-editor Keith Bennett.

Zhuo introduces the Study Group and its core members, and summarises the main arguments of its 2023 book of memoirs by long-standing friends of China. These include the view that China’s achievements demonstrate the superiority of socialism, and that Xi Jinping Thought is “a great gift to all humanity” that can help unite progressive forces worldwide. He also outlines the Institute’s distinctive positions, among them its emphasis on the non-Western development of scientific socialism and its critique of Western leftists who remain sceptical of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The article offers an interesting insight into how Chinese scholars view the work of China’s friends in the West – and into the role of people-to-people movements in breaking through the anti-China consensus in the Western media.

China-Vietnam relations: Pursuing common development while remembering shared revolutionary traditions

Tran Thanh Man, President of the National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam, visited China from October 11 to 15 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and to co-chair the second session of the cooperation committee between the two countries’ legislative bodies together with him.

The Vietnamese newspaper Nhân Dân reported: “This is NA President Man’s first visit to China in his capacity as Vietnam’s top legislator. The visit aims to further implement the foreign policy set out at the 14th National Party Congress, enhance the effectiveness of cooperation between Vietnam’s National Assembly and the National People’s Congress of China, and reaffirm the pivotal role of parliamentary cooperation in the overall Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.”

Tran Thanh Man met with Zhao Leji on October 12 and held the second session of their cooperation committee together.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Zhao said that China is ready to work with Vietnam to follow the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, and push for deeper and more substantive progress in building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future.

He added that both sides should deepen practical cooperation, advance infrastructure connectivity, expand cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, clean energy and communications satellites, cement public support, and deepen exchanges in culture, education and sports. He also called for close coordination on multilateral affairs and joint implementation of the four global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping.

Tran Thanh Man said Vietnam regards its relationship with China as a strategic choice and a top priority in its foreign policy, and is ready to enhance strategic mutual trust, expand cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, infrastructure and science and technology, and intensify people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Vietnam’s Nhân Dân newspaper added that Man congratulated China on the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and its major development achievements, including the important contributions of the NPC. He expressed confidence that, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, with General Secretary and President Xi as its core, China would achieve its goal of becoming a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.

To deepen bilateral ties, the two sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and advance strategic trust, creating a firmer political foundation for cooperation. They called for more balanced and sustainable trade, high-quality investment, modern and coordinated railway connectivity, and stronger cooperation in science and technology. They also stressed the need to strengthen local-level cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and education, culture and tourism collaboration, enhance coordination at multilateral forums, effectively manage the land border, and better control and resolve differences to maintain peace and stability at sea.

Zhao Leji proposed closer strategic coordination in digital and green economies, artificial intelligence, smart border gates and cross-border economic zones. He suggested accelerating the construction and development of railway lines connecting the two countries and linking them to the China–Europe railway network. He welcomed more Vietnamese agricultural products entering the Chinese market and encouraged Vietnam to make effective use of trade fairs hosted by China. He underscored the importance of public support for bilateral ties, calling for stronger cooperation in tourism, culture, media, healthcare and sports, particularly exchanges among young people. China also welcomed more Vietnamese students to study there.

Man met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the same day.

According to Xinhua, reflecting “camaraderie plus brotherhood,” Li said China is willing to work with Vietnam to continue traditional friendship, enhance unity and mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, better benefit the two peoples, and inject positive energy into promoting regional and global stability and prosperity.

Man said Vietnam extends its heartfelt congratulations on China’s new and significant achievements in economic and social development, with its economic growth rate ranking among the top of the world’s major economies and its breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation leading the world. Vietnam has always regarded China as a top priority and a strategic choice in its foreign relations, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and will maintain close exchanges with China at all levels in accordance with the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and two countries. The National Assembly of Vietnam attaches great importance to and highly recognises Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and is willing to enhance exchanges of experience in governance with China, he noted.

Nhân Dân further reported that Man stressed that developing ties with China is a consistent policy, an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority in Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, multilateralisation and diversification of relations.

The previous day Man had met with Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

According to Nhân Dân, he conveyed congratulations from General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and other high-ranking Vietnamese leaders on the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1. He also congratulated China on its major theoretical and practical achievements in reform, opening up and national modernisation, including the CPPCC National Committee’s contributions. He voiced confidence that under the CPC Central Committee’s leadership, with General Secretary and President Xi Jinping at its core, China will reach its goal of building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, contributing to common development and prosperity in the region and the world.

Wang, for his part, sent greetings to General Secretary and President Lam and other key Vietnamese leaders. He congratulated Vietnam on its major theoretical and practical achievements, which show the vitality and bright prospects of the country’s socialist cause, and affirmed support for Vietnam in achieving its development goals in the new era.

Agreeing with the guest’s proposals, Wang called for coordinated cooperation through all channels and at all levels, and an effective rollout of plans for high-level exchanges. He also urged full use of mechanisms such as the 3+3 strategic dialogue on diplomacy, national defence and security, and the bilateral cooperation steering committee. He suggested more exchanges of theory and experience in party building and national governance, closer alignment of the two countries’ quality development strategies, faster railway connectivity projects, and concrete early progress in trade, investment, smart border gates, cross-border economic cooperation zones, science and technology, artificial intelligence, digital economy and green economy.

The CPPCC values and supports friendly exchanges among people of all walks of life in the two countries, particularly the youth. He urged an effective rollout of people-to-people exchanges such as the Red Journey and the China-Vietnam Year of tourism cooperation, along with expanded cooperation in tourism, education, culture and locality-to-locality exchanges.

The two sides agreed to step up multilateral coordination and support each other in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in 2026 and 2027 respectively.

As part of his packed programme of engagements during his stay in Beijing, Man and his delegation visited the Museum of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

After touring the museum and receiving briefings on its exhibition areas, Man said that Vietnam had also commenced construction of the Museum of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in Hanoi. The project is expected to be inaugurated in early 2030, marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPV (February 3, 1930–2030). He expressed his hope that the Museum of the CPC will support Vietnam and share experience in structural planning, architectural design and the display of artefacts.

He also toured the Nanmofang township legislative liaison station in Beijing’s Chaoyang district shortly after his arrival in China.

He was briefed on effective and innovative approaches the station uses to collect public feedback on draft legal documents. This gives deputies to people’s congresses at all levels more chances to engage voters and feed public concerns into the drafting, review and adoption of policy documents.

Li Xiuling, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, praised the visit’s significance, noting that the guest’s first stop on their China visit was at the grassroots to learn about legislative work and voter engagement mechanisms. It is important for the two countries to share experience in building socialist democracy, he said.

Describing China’s “whole-process people’s democracy”, Li said the model spans more than 70 years and covers the people’s congress system, political consultation, multiparty cooperation under the Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership, and regional ethnic autonomy. It runs through the entire cycle of elections, consultation, decision-making, implementation and oversight. He added that the model grew out of integrating Marxist principles with China’s realities and traditional culture.

Praising the model of bringing legislative work closer to grassroots communities, voters and the public in Nanmofang and Beijing at large, Man said Vietnam attaches importance to legislative work in building a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people. That includes listening to experts, intellectuals, businesses, voters and the general public, especially those directly affected by policies and laws.

Besides Beijing, Man and his party visited Xi’an and Yan’an, in northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

Man met with Zhao Yide, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shaanxi province, in Xi’an on October 13. Nhân Dân noted that the province is the cradle of the Chinese revolution and holds memories of the years when President Ho Chi Minh stood shoulder to shoulder with generations of Chinese leaders in their arduous revolutionary struggle.

Zhao said President Man’s visit reflects the friendship and high regard that the Vietnamese party, state and NA attach to the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and to ties between Vietnamese localities and Shaanxi province in particular.

Briefing the Vietnamese delegation on Shaanxi’s history, revolutionary traditions and achievements across various fields, Zhao noted the province’s deep appreciation for President Ho Chi Minh’s numerous visits to Shaanxi and to Yan’an city.

For his part, Man suggested Shaanxi and Vietnamese localities step up collaboration in the fields of science and technology, energy, hi-tech agriculture, transport infrastructure and logistics, particularly railways, quality workforce training, culture and tourism.

On October 14, Man visited the Yangjialing and Zaoyuan revolutionary sites in Yan’an city.

Nhân Dân noted that the delegation travelled there by high-speed train, adding: “The city is regarded as the cradle of China’s revolution and a symbol of resilience, solidarity and self-reliance. It also bears the imprint of Nguyen Ai Quoc, or President Ho Chi Minh, whose revolutionary activities during his time in China contributed to the Chinese revolution and the international communist movement.

“Zaoyuan lies about 8km northwest of the city centre. Together with Yangjialing, Wangjiaping, Baota Mountain and the Yan’an Revolutionary Memorial Museum, it forms a prominent complex of revolutionary sites from the period when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was based in the city. Chairman Mao Zedong and other Chinese revolutionary leaders lived and worked there…

“Zaoyuan carries particular significance for Vietnam because President Ho Chi Minh stayed there. According to the CPC history section of China’s People’s Daily, he returned to China from the Soviet Union in the winter of 1938, travelling through Xinjiang and Xi’an before reaching Yan’an, then the CPC’s hub.

“At Zaoyuan, President Ho Chi Minh was hosted by Wang Jiaxiang, Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. He also met Mao and other Chinese leaders to discuss the revolutions in both countries.

“The site is therefore significant to the history of both revolutions, particularly the period before President Ho Chi Minh returned to lead Vietnam’s. It reflects the close ties between the two countries’ leaders and revolutionary movements. President Ho Chi Minh revisited the house in 1959 and had his photos taken there…

“Man also toured Yangjialing, which has been preserved as a venue for teaching the public about CPC history and China’s revolutionary traditions. Yangjialing is linked to a pivotal period when the CPC consolidated its ideological, political and organisational foundations during the war of resistance against Japan, while preparing for the post-war period. It remains a prominent site for political and party history education in China…

“The Vietnamese guest lauded Yan’an’s development and its efforts to preserve its ‘red address’ sites. He called on the city and Vietnamese localities to foster connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, push tourism cooperation, particularly ‘red tourism’ that follows in the footsteps of both countries’ revolutionary leaders, and work together to preserve historical and cultural sites.”

New bridge of friendship links China and DPRK

China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a joint ceremony on October 15 to open the new bridge connecting China’s Liaoning Province and North Pyongan Province of the DPRK.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and DPRK Premier Pak Thae Song addressed the ceremony by video link.

Li called upon the two countries to take the opening of the new China-DPRK Yalu River bridge as an opportunity to continuously optimise port clearance, enhance connectivity, tap the potential for cooperation in border areas, and improve the well-being of the two peoples. [Editor’s Note: The river is known as the Yalu in China and the Amnok in Korea.]

“The bridge is bound to become a new landmark symbolising the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK,” he added.

Noting that the bridge is an important cross-border infrastructure project that General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Kim Jong Un have jointly cared about and promoted, Li said that China and the DPRK are friendly socialist neighbours linked by mountains and rivers, adding that at present, under the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two parties and countries, China-DPRK relations are entering a new stage and opening a new chapter.

He went on to say Xi has pointed out that no matter how the international landscape evolves, the firm position of China’s party and government to attach great importance to the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK will remain unchanged; the firm support for Kim in leading the DPRK’s socialist cause will remain unchanged; and the determination to safeguard the common interests of both sides and maintain a favourable strategic environment will remain unchanged.

Premier Pak Thae Song said that the opening ceremony of the bridge serves as a significant occasion of not only connecting the branches of the two countries in a fresh, natural and geographical way but also firmly linking the friendly ties between the peoples of the two countries who have shared life and death for a long time.

It is the consistent stand of the DPRK government to steadily put the DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations with socialism, the common idea, common banner and the common cause, as the core on a new strategic height in conformity with the interests and desire of the peoples of the two countries, he stressed.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) further noted that speakers from the provincial bodies of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Communist Party of China said that the opening of the Amnok River Bridge held in October marking the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the entry of the Chinese People’s Volunteers into the Korean front is a clear manifestation of the DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations dynamically developing on a new high stage thanks to the deep personal relations between respected Comrade Kim Jong Un and respected Comrade Xi Jinping and their energetic leadership.

They further expressed the will to boost bilateral exchange and cooperation for the development of the DPRK-China relations, wishing the traditional DPRK-China friendship, the common wealth of the two countries, to be eternal.

In memory of Ambassador Kojo Owusu Gyamadua Amoo-Gottfried, 19 February 1934 – 24 July 2026

Our co-editor Keith Bennett remembers his friend and comrade Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, who passed away peacefully in Ghana on July 24, 2026, at the age of 92.

His Excellency Ambassador Kojo Owusu Gyamadua Amoo-Gottfried, known to one and all simply as Kojo, was a Ghanaian patriot and public servant, a revolutionary Pan-Africanist, a Marxist, a member of the Ashanti royal family, a scientist, an Ambassador to Cuba, China, Switzerland and the United Nations in Geneva, a member of the Friends of Socialist China advisory group, a husband, father, grandfather and to me personally a much-loved friend and comrade.

Although I was aware of the fact that he had been ailing for some time, it still came as a considerable shock when I somewhat belatedly learned of his passing.

On the introduction of a mutual friend, we first met in the 1990s in Beijing, where he was serving as his country’s ambassador. We found ourselves wondering how we had not met before, considering the number of friends we had in common. But we soon made up for lost time, with the years that followed filled with numerous meetings and activities in Beijing during his period of office, in London where he had a family home and still visited regularly until his very last years, and on visits together to Durban and Hanoi.

Ambassador to China, and concurrently non-resident ambassador to Vietnam, Cambodia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in the late 1990s, was his last job before retiring. But his close relationship with the Chinese revolution long predated this. He would often recall being at boarding school and sharing the excitement with his lifelong best friend Captain Kojo Tsikata at the news of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and their discussing what this meant for the anti-colonial struggle in Africa.

Tings Chak: How Brazil’s election could reshape relations with China

The following article by Tings Chak, Asia Co-Coordinator of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and an editor of the international edition of Wenhua Zongheng: A Journal of Contemporary Chinese Thought, examines what is at stake for China-Brazil relations in Brazil’s presidential runoff on October 25 between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.

Over the past two decades, Brazil and China have built a political partnership that “has expanded the space for independent action among countries of the Global South”. Under Lula, this cooperation has extended to industrial development, infrastructure, science and technology – and to Brazil’s popular movements, with the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) working with Chinese institutions on agricultural mechanisation, bioinputs and AI tools for agroecology built on Chinese open-source models.

Flávio Bolsonaro, by contrast, has offered Brazil to Washington as the “solution” to its dependence on China for critical minerals, and his campaign has proposed preventing Brazil’s Pix payment system from connecting to non-Western networks. With the Trump administration proclaiming a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, Brazil – Latin America’s largest economy and a founding member of BRICS – has become “a consequential battleground in Washington’s campaign to contain China’s growing relations with the region”.

Tings notes that Chinese analysts anticipate “cold politics, hot economics” under a Flávio presidency, with commodity trade continuing but strategic cooperation deteriorating, as it did under his father. She concludes that the future of China-Brazil cooperation “will depend on the capacity of organised popular forces to build a sovereign national project and turn international cooperation into lasting changes in people’s lives”.

China elevates ties with Botswana and Togo

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President of the Republic of Botswana Duma Gideon Boko paid a state visit to China from October 12 to 17.

Xi Jinping held talks with his Botswanan counterpart in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the afternoon of October 13. The two heads of state made the announcement to elevate their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

President Xi noted that Botswana voted in support of restoring the People’s Republic of China’s lawful seat in the United Nations in the 1970s, even before the two countries established diplomatic ties. Today, the two countries are marching side by side on the journey toward modernisation, writing a new chapter in bilateral friendship. China-Botswana friendship should shine bright and endure like diamonds. (Botswana ranks second in world diamond production after the Russian Federation.)

Xi further observed that a common direction brings people together on the same road. This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 60th anniversary of the independence of Botswana. The two governing parties should strengthen cooperation, deepen experience-sharing in state governance, and foster greater convergence of ideas. (President Boko heads the Umbrella for Democratic Change, an alliance of left-wing parties including the Botswana National Front, the Botswana Movement for Democracy, the Botswana People’s Party and the Botswana Congress Party. It achieved a landslide victory in the 2024 elections, forming the first left-wing government in the country’s history.)

China, Xi added, supports Botswana in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions. The two sides should continue to develop the framework for economic and trade cooperation and seize the new opportunities emerging from China’s zero-tariff treatment for African countries having diplomatic relations with China. China is ready to enhance cooperation with Botswana in areas such as the digital economy, agriculture and the livestock industry and carry out the Smart Education Project to support economic and social development in Botswana.

Xi put forward a four-point proposition on China-Botswana and China-Africa mining cooperation:

First, the starting principle should be African resources belonging to Africa. China stands ready to share its experience and help African countries formulate mining development plans consistent with their national conditions.

Second, the guiding philosophy should be a right approach to friendship and interests and ensuring mutual benefit. China will continue to encourage Chinese companies to enhance their operational capacity, transfer green technologies suited to Africa’s conditions, and promote South-South cooperation in mining development.

In Berlin, Africans were not at the table – in Beijing, we are

In the following speech, delivered at the Socialist China Conference 2026, Myriam Kane of the Black Liberation Alliance reflects on her visit to China in September 2025 as one of more than 70 African delegates to a China-Africa youth festival.

Starting from the 1884 Berlin Conference, where European powers carved up Africa with no African at the table, Myriam asks whether China’s engagement with Africa breaks the old colonial design or repeats it. Drawing on what she saw – from the preservation of China’s cultural heritage in the Forbidden City, to the Xiaomi electric vehicle factory, to the “photovoltaic sheep” of Qinghai’s Talatan desert, where solar power has helped lift hundreds of thousands out of poverty – she argues that development and cultural identity, and development and environmental protection, go hand in hand.

Myriam contrasts the US refusal of visas to Senegal’s women’s basketball team with China’s scholarships for Senegalese athletes preparing for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and points to the projects built through China-Africa cooperation in her own country, alongside China’s extension of zero-tariff access to 53 African countries. Her conclusion is a call to action: “Use our own sun, build our own solar parks and train our own engineers… That is what it means to be anti-imperialist today.”

China’s AI rise – can jobs and education keep pace with the rise of the robots?

In the following article, Chen Jiaqi, a journalist with CGTN, looks at how China is preparing its workforce and education system for the spread of artificial intelligence and robotics. Chinese manufacturers now account for more than 97 percent of global humanoid robot shipments, and the article details the measures being taken to ensure that technology uplifts rather than displaces working people: assessing AI’s impact on jobs, expanding AI training and skills assessment, formally recognising new occupations such as embodied intelligence robot technician, and introducing new interdisciplinary university degrees.

This people-centred approach – summed up in Xi Jinping’s call to “develop AI for the positive and for good”, under human control and in the service of shared prosperity – stands in sharp contrast to that of the United States. Washington’s AI Action Plan, tellingly titled “Winning the Race”, prioritises stripping away “red tape and onerous regulation”, shows minimal concern for the social impact of the technology, and sets the goal of “unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance”. The aim is to “win AI”, so that a handful of US tech giants can extract monopoly rents from the rest of the world.

China, by contrast, treats AI as a tool for development – its own and that of the Global South – and promotes open-source models, international cooperation and global governance of the technology.

China calls out western human rights hypocrisy at UN

Sun Lei, China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, speaking during the general debate of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on October 6, responded firmly to a number of Western countries, urging them to stop fabricating and spreading lies about China and stop using human rights issues for political manipulation.

Sun said that China strongly condemns and is firmly opposed to the groundless accusations and malicious smears of China’s human rights situation made by countries including the UK, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, in their replies during the general debate of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.

He went on to note that these countries consider themselves superior to others and often assume the posture of self-appointed “human rights teachers,” yet they have serious human rights problems of their own, adding that these countries are in no position to lecture others on human rights, let alone make irresponsible remarks about China.

In contrast to China, which has eliminated extreme poverty, poverty has continued to worsen in the UK in recent years, he said, with over 14 million people living below the poverty line, half of whom are in “extreme poverty”.

A 2018 report by Philip Alston, then UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said 14 million people, a fifth of the UK population, lived in poverty, and four million of these were more than 50 percent below the poverty line, and 1.5 million destitute, unable to afford basic essentials.

A study by the British Social Metrics Commission in 2024 found the cost of living crisis had plunged two million more people into severe hardship since 2019, meaning more than 16 million people in total are defined as living in poverty, or 24 percent of the UK population, the highest since comparable records began in 2000.

China’s new Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law aims to promote common prosperity and development among all ethnic groups. However, by contrast, Japan has failed to fulfil its commitments to eliminate racial discrimination and has not treated the Ainu (an indigenous people living in the north of Japan) and Ryukyu (Okinawan) peoples as equal ethnic groups, leaving their survival and development under threat. In the UK, Australia and Ireland, colonialism has caused enduring harm to this day, and these countries are facing serious social problems, including racism and ethnic divisions.

And in contrast to China’s concrete efforts to promote dialogue, cooperation and more equitable global human rights governance, countries such as the UK, Australia, Japan, the Czech Republic and Lithuania frequently invoke morality yet remain indifferent to the unjust treatment suffered by the people of Palestine, Iran and Cuba. They repeatedly use human rights as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and impose unilateral coercive measures, infringing on the interests of developing countries and playing a highly disgraceful role, Sun pointed out.

Brits in revolution: Weaving the struggles of British and Chinese people into a community of shared future

The following is the text of a talk given by our co-editor Keith Bennett on September 23rd to a meeting organised by the Birmingham People’s History Archive and held at its offices housed in the Birmingham and Midland Institute.

With the title of Brits in Revolution, Keith introduces various British people whose lives became entwined with the Chinese revolution in various ways and in its different phases and stages and travels back and forth between Britain and China, between the Chinese revolution and progressive and working class movements in Britain, and between individuals in both countries, illustrating in this way how each influenced and reinforced the other, creating history in the process.

Starting with the first opium war waged by British imperialism against China and the Chartist movement in Britain, the first mass political expression of the modern proletariat, in the early 1840s, Keith takes us through the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the early collaboration between British and Chinese communists in the 1920s, the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, the early days of building New China and the more complicated period of the 1960s.

Inevitably these snapshots omit many great events and many individuals who richly deserve to be remembered, but Keith concludes:

“In this spirit, in going back and forth, I have tried to draw out how the role of British people in supporting and even participating in the Chinese revolution is not simply a matter of something that happened ‘over there’. Rather it represented two mutually reinforcing fronts of ultimately the same fight, a struggle whose commonality was forged through the interweaving of numerous threads in such a way that they could not actually be dissevered. And further that here we can perceive part of the makings of what Xi Jinping now calls a community of shared future for humanity.”